There is a significant concern around narcotic diversions and drug abuse within hospitals; the use of narcotics is especially an area of focus. In an effort to avoid drug diversions, some hospitals and other care facilities have protocols in place that require one person to waste the narcotic (such as into a sink or a container) while another person observes the wasting to ensure the narcotic was properly wasted. There are inherent problems with this method. For example, the drug could be substituted prior to wasting without the observer knowing. Alternatively, the waster and observer could be diverting the drug together or the observer could ignore the drug diversion for professional or personal reasons. In addition, the observer spends valuable time monitoring the disposal process instead of focusing on patient care.
Alternatively, some drugs are not required to be wasted if the drug can be re-dispensed to another patient. In these cases, the drug can be sent back to the pharmacy where it is re-dispensed. However, in this circumstance, the pharmacist must rely on the chain of control and trust that the returned drug is indeed the drug identified on the container's label. If the drug has been diverted, a patient will not receive the needed medication.
Thus, while techniques and systems are available for use in preventing narcotic diversions and drug abuse, challenges still exist. Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to augment or even replace current techniques with other techniques.